Method and apparatus for network-assisted automatic confirmation of short message service delivery

ABSTRACT

In a mobile communications network, a delivery acknowledgement receipt can be sent to indicate a SMS message is delivered. A system can be based on currently-existing protocols, such as described in the IS-136 standard. Existing network signals that acknowledge receipt of a message can be captured and utilized to notify the originator when the SMS message is delivered. A variety of other scenarios (e.g., unsuccessful delivery) can also be supported.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of the U.S. patentapplication entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NETWORK-ASSISTEDAUTOMATIC CONFIRMATION OF SHORT MESSAGE SERVICE DELIVERY,” filed Nov. 6,2000, and assigned application Ser. No. 09/706,607, for which a petitionto convert to provisional application was filed on Aug. 22, 2001, and isnow referred to as U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/325,788,and which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

[0002] The present invention relates generally to short message servicein mobile networks, and, more particularly to confirmation of shortmessage service delivery in mobile networks.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Various mobile telecommunication standards include specificationsfor a subscriber service known in the art as short message service (SMS)(otherwise known as cellular message teleservice, text messaging, PCSmessaging, and a variety of other names) which provides for thetransmission of short text messages to a subscriber at her or his mobileterminal. For example, the existing IS-136 TDMA Standard describes aone-way messaging service that allows text of 180 characters or less tobe sent by a short message service center (SMSC) to an IS-136 capablemobile phone. In the current implementation of the service, theoriginator of the text message receives no verification that therecipient's phone ever received the message.

[0004] Nevertheless, numerous technologies have been developed whichallow for confirmation of whether a message has been delivered to asubscriber terminal. Existing services based on SMS fall into one ofthree categories: (1) There are two-way paging systems wherein thepaging subscriber can initiate a manual response to a message, whichoften requires new devices or new interfaces on cell phones. (2) Somesystems provide a unique confirmation number to each message and thesender can call the system later to track the delivery status of amessage using the confirmation code. (3) There are enhanced protocolsbeing proposed to enable advanced wireless information servicesincluding confirmed message delivery, an example being the ReFLEX systemof MOTOROLA. However, such protocols are not in widespread use.

[0005] Accordingly, a network-assisted system that uses existingprotocol standards, that does not require recipients to manuallyacknowledge receipt of each message, or that does not require the senderto repeatedly check message delivery status would be beneficial.

SUMMARY

[0006] An improved message verification technique based oncurrently-existing protocols, such as described in the above-mentionedIS-136 standard can be provided. Existing network signals thatacknowledge receipt of a message can be captured and utilized to notifythe originator when the SMS message is delivered.

[0007] In one embodiment, a short message service center either accessesa database of delivery acknowledgement preferences or parses a shortmessage for encoded delivery acknowledgement preferences and, uponreceipt of the relevant network message delivery signal, initiates adelivery acknowledgement back to the originator in accordance with theoriginator's preferences. The delivery acknowledgement can utilize anyof a number of forms of communication infrastructures that can act asexternal short message entities to the short message service center,including, and without limitation, an e-mail gateway to the Internet, apaging system, a wireless application protocol proxy server, etc. Thedelivery acknowledgement preferences can express, for example, whetherthe sender wishes to have each SMS message acknowledged by default or ona message-by-message basis, what type of acknowledgement the senderdesires, as well as to what particular address to send theacknowledgement.

[0008] Thus, message verification can be improved in certain embodimentsin that a system can utilize existing protocols, need not require asender to repeatedly check message delivery status, and need not requirea recipient to explicitly acknowledge receipt of each message manually.

[0009] These and other advantages of certain embodiments will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to thefollowing detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010]FIG. 1 sets forth an example of a short message service (SMS)system architecture used to illustrate a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0011]FIGS. 2A through 2D are signal diagrams illustrating networksignals exchanged during a SMS message delivery attempt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary short message service(SMS) system architecture is shown to illustrate a preferred embodimentof the present invention. A short message service center (SMSC),exemplified in FIG. 1 as a cellular message teleservice (CMT) node 110,acts as an intermediary between a mobile network and one or moreexternal short message entities. The CMT node 110 stores message serviceprofiles detailing the preferences and subscription details of eachsubscriber with respect to messages for each of the mobile units whichit services. The CMT node 110 uses a standard protocol such as ShortMessage Peer to Peer (SMPP) to communicate with any external shortmessage entities, such as (and without limitation) a wirelessapplication protocol (WAP) proxy server, an e-mail gateway or other typeof messaging gateway, a voice processing system for handling voicemailalerts, a paging system, etc.

[0013] For example, FIG. 1 shows an e-mail gateway 150 connected to astandard packet-switched network 102, such as the Internet, where thegateway 150 is capable of initiating SMPP sessions with the CMT node110. The CMT node 110 has been augmented to enable it to ascertainwhether a delivery acknowledgement is desired—e.g., from data receivedduring the SMPP session, from the content of the particular message, orfrom stored preferences of the originator of the message. For example,and without limitation, the preferences of the originator can be encodedin the message, as and the CMT node 110 could parse the message and,based on the content of the message, decide whether and how to send adelivery acknowledgement.

[0014] As is known in the art and as further described herein, the CMTnode 110 has access to the mobile network and can ascertain where amobile subscriber is roaming and transmit a short message to thesubscriber's mobile unit 140. Thus, the CMT node 110 can contactelements of the mobile network, such as a home location register (HLR)120 or a mobile service center (MSC) 130, using standard signaling, e.g.shown in FIG. 1 as an SS7 signaling network 101. The CMT node 110 cantransmit a short message service request using a standard short messageservice protocol to the HLR 120 in order to determine where thesubscriber is roaming. The HLR 120 receives the SMS request, consultssubscriber data, and responds with a return result identifying theappropriate mobile switching center 130, e.g. by MSCID. Or the HLR 120can return a result indicating that the subscriber's mobile 140 isinactive (e.g., powered down or outside of the coverage area) or thatthe subscriber's mobile is incapable of receiving SMS. If the subscriberis inactive, the CMT node 110 can keep the short message in queue for aset period while the HLR 120 keeps a flag that shows a message iswaiting. Once the subscriber roams back to an MSC in the “home” area,the HLR 120 sends an SMS notification back to the CMT node 110 which canthen attempt message delivery. The CMT node 110 can send a Short MessageDelivery Point to Point (SMDPP) message to the relevant MSC 130 wherethe text of the short message is contained within the SMDPP message. TheMSC 130 can, in turn, contact a base station 135 and have the particularmobile unit 140 paged using standard R-Data/SMS protocols, e.g. inaccordance with the IS-136 TDMA standard in North America. If the mobileunit 140 responds, the system delivers the message to the mobile unit140. If the message transmission is successful, a SMDPP return resultgoes from the MSC 130 back to the CMT node 110 which can set the statusof the message to “sent” and will not attempt to send the message again.

[0015] This series of messages exchanged between the CMT node 110 andthe mobile network (e.g. across standard ANSI/TIA/EIA-41 networkinterfaces) is illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 2A through 2D.FIG. 2A shows the messages exchanged during a successful SMS deliveryfrom a message center 110 to a registered and active mobile station 140.FIG. 2B shows the messages exchanged during a successful delivery of apending SMS (e.g., where the message center 110 has stored the messageand awaits the activation and registration of the mobile station 140).FIG. 2C shows the messages exchanged during an attempted SMS delivery toa registered mobile station 140 where there has been a delivery failurebetween the MSC 130 and the mobile station 140. FIG. 2D shows themessages exchanged during an attempted SMS delivery from a messagecenter 110 to an inactive mobile station 140.

[0016] In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, the existing network signals—such as the SS7 smdpp[ACK]return result shown above in FIGS. 2A and 2B—are captured at the CMTnode 110 and a delivery acknowledgement receipt generated for deliveryto the originator 100 of the short message. The delivery acknowledgementreceipt can constitute confirmation of the SMS delivery. Similarly,other signals such as a smdpp[NAK] signal in FIG. 2C can be recorded andan acknowledgement receipt generated indicating that a SMS deliveryattempt had failed (e.g., because the mobile station 140 was inactiveand not registered). The acknowledgement receipt can be generated anddelivered in any of a number of ways, which advantageously can depend onthe method the originator 100 used to request the short message serviceor on the express preferences of the originator 100.

[0017] For example, with reference to FIG. 1, where the originator 100has sent an e-mail to the e-mail gateway 150 in order to generate theSMS delivery request at the CMT node 110, the CMT node 110 can parse thee-mail for the message originator's e-mail address, conventionally foundin the e-mail's “to:” header field. The receipt of a smdpp[ACK] signalcan be matched up with the originator's stored e-mail address and ane-mail notification reply automatically generated and sent through thee-mail gateway 150 to the originator's e-mail address.

[0018] As another example, the SMS message could have an identificationnumber of the originator's pager encoded in the message, and the CMTnode 110 can parse the number and initiate a page containing a deliverystatus code upon receipt of the relevant status signal. As anotherexample, the SMS message could have the originator's mobile phone numberencoded in the message, and the CMT node 110 could initiate its own SMSmessage back to the originator's mobile.

[0019] The originator of the SMS message can choose whether to have eachSMS message acknowledged by default or on a message-by-message basis.For example, as mentioned above, the preference can be encoded in thebody of the SMS message that can be deciphered by the server. Thewireless service provider can choose to deliver or block such feedback.

[0020] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention.Thus, for example, although the invention is illustrated in the contextof known mobile cellular architectures and particular short messageservice standards, those skilled in the art will be able to implementthe invention in any of a variety of mobile architectures. It will thusbe appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devisenumerous arrangements that, although not explicitly shown or describedherein, nevertheless embody the principles of the invention and arewithin its spirit and scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a short message servicecenter comprising: receiving a short message service request from asender; determining delivery acknowledgement preferences of the sender;transmitting through a mobile network a short message to a mobile unitin accordance with the short message service request; receiving a signalfrom the mobile network acknowledging delivery of the short message tothe mobile unit; and transmitting a delivery acknowledgement inaccordance with the delivery acknowledgement preferences of the sender.2. The method of claim 1 wherein the delivery acknowledgement preferenceis stored in a database.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the deliveryacknowledgement preference is encoded in the short message servicerequest.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the delivery acknowledgementis an e-mail transmitted to the sender's e-mail address.
 5. The methodof claim 1 wherein the delivery acknowledgement is transmitted using ashort message service.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the deliveryacknowledgement is a page in a paging system.
 7. The method of claim 1wherein the delivery acknowledgement is transmitted to a wirelessapplication protocol proxy server.
 8. A short message service centercomprising: a first interface to a mobile network; a second interface toan external short message entity; a central processing unit connected tofirst and second interface for executing computer program instructions,the computer program instructions causing the central processing unit toperform the following: receiving a short message service request from asender; determining delivery acknowledgement preferences of the sender;transmitting through the mobile network a short message to a mobile unitin accordance with the short message service request; receiving a signalfrom the mobile network acknowledging delivery of the short message tothe mobile unit; and transmitting through the external short messageentity a delivery acknowledgement in accordance with the deliveryacknowledgement preferences of the sender.
 9. The short message servicecenter of claim 8 further comprising a storage device and wherein thedelivery acknowledgement preference is stored in a database on thestorage device.
 10. The short message service center of claim 8 whereinthe delivery acknowledgement preference is encoded in the short messageservice request.
 11. The short message service center of claim 8 whereinthe external short message entity is an e-mail gateway and the deliveryacknowledgement is an e-mail transmitted to the sender's e-mail address.12. The short message service center of claim 8 wherein the externalshort message entity is a paging system and the delivery acknowledgementis a page in the paging system.
 13. The short message service center ofclaim 8 wherein the external short message entity is a wirelessapplication protocol proxy server.
 14. A computer-readable mediumcomprising computer-executable instructions for performing the followingin a short message service center comprising a first interface to amobile network, a second interface to an external short message entity,and a central processing unit connected to the first and secondinterface: receiving a short message service request from a sender;determining delivery acknowledgement preferences of the sender;transmitting through the mobile network a short message to a mobile unitin accordance with the short message service request; receiving a signalfrom the mobile network acknowledging delivery of the short message tothe mobile unit; and transmitting through the external short messageentity a delivery acknowledgement in accordance with the deliveryacknowledgement preferences of the sender.
 15. A network node operableto communicate with at least one mobile communication device, thenetwork node comprising: a processor configured to perform at least thefollowing: receiving an SMDPP acknowledgement message as a result ofattempting communications with the mobile communication device; andresponsive to receiving the SMDPP acknowledgement message, transmittinga delivery acknowledgement receipt.
 16. The network node of claim 15wherein the SMDPP acknowledgement message indicates an acknowledgementstatus related to the mobile communication device.
 17. The network nodeof claim 15 wherein the network node is further operable to communicatewith at least one short message entity, the processor further configuredto perform at least the following: receiving an SMS message from theshort message entity; transmitting an SMDPP message addressed to themobile communication device; wherein the SMDPP acknowledgement receivedacknowledges transmission of the SMDPP message addressed to the mobilecommunication device.
 18. The network of claim 17, wherein the processoris further configured to perform at least the following: associating anemail address with the SMS message; and transmitting, in thetransmitting step, an indication of the delivery acknowledgement receiptto the email address.
 19. The network node of claim 17 wherein thedelivery acknowledgement receipt is sent to a pre-specified destination.20. The network node of claim 19 wherein the pre-specified destinationis stored as destination preferences modifiable by a user of the shortmessage entity.
 21. The network of claim 15, wherein the short messageentity is a mobile communication device in communication with the node;and the delivery acknowledgement receipt is transmitted the mobilecommunication device in communication with the node.
 22. The network ofclaim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to perform atleast the following: capturing the SMDPP acknowledgement message. 23.The network of claim 15 wherein the SMDPP acknowledgement messageindicates unsuccessful communication with the mobile communicationdevice.
 24. The network of claim 15 wherein the SMDPP acknowledgementmessage indicates the mobile communication device is inactive.
 25. Thenetwork of claim 15 wherein the SMDPP acknowledgement message indicatesthe mobile communication device is incapable of receiving SMS.